Aerated cigarettes



Feb. 2, 1960 E. P. AGHNIDES AERATED CIGARETTES Filed July 9, 1957 FIG. 4.

FIG. I.

FIG 9 Elle P Aghmdes ATTORNEYS than smokers normally give to a cigarette.

AERAIED CIGARETTES Elie P. Aghnides, New York, NY.

Application July 9, 1957, Serial No. 670,794 15 Claims. (Cl. 131-9 This is a continuation-in-part of my prior copending application Serial No. 131,382, filed December 6, 1949, entitled Aerated Cigarettes now abandoned.

This invention relates to cigarettes and more particu Iarly to arrangements for aerating a cigarette. The invention provides a cigarette which may be used in the normal way, but which also has means covering an opening in the side .wall of the cigarette that can be removed or' displaced to expose the opening and thus allow air to enter and become mixed with the smoke in order to produce desirable results.

The addition of air through the side wall of a cigarette renders the smoke cooler and milder. In addition, the inhaled gases include a larger percentage of oxygen than would. be the case withordinary cigarettes.

It has previously been known that air could be admitted through the side wall of a cigarette, but no means for controlling the air has heretofore been provided, and consequently the arrangement was not practical and has never met with commercial success for several reasons. First, since the holes in the side of the prior art cigarette were permanently open, the smoker would obtain a maximum amount of aeration when he first tried the cigarette, and since the smoking thereof would be different from what he had been accustomed to he would reject-the idea. Secondly, unless the smoker manually .opens and closes the holes he gets the same amount. of aeration at all times. Thirdly, manually opening and closing'the holes requires more attention 7 For example, if there are several holes only some of which are to be closed, and the smoker places the cigarette on the ash tray temporarily and then picks it up again, he must concentrate his elforts on closing the proper holes.

The primary object of this invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

Another. object of the invention is to provide an aerated cigarette which is low in cost and easy to manufacture.

-An additional object of the invention is to provide an aeratedcig'arette in which the smoker has the choice to smoke it as usual or to permit admission of air into the smoke at the desired moment and obtain that aeration through the life of the cigarette without giving the matter further attention.

Still another object of. the invention is to provide an aerated cigarette: in which the amount of aeration, during the life ofthe cigarette, is adjustable, so that after the cigarette has been partly smoked the amount of aeration can be increasedif desired.

Still another object of the invention is to prolong the life of the cigarette by aeration, when desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide an arrangement whereby the smoke is condensed before it reaches the mouth, whereby less tars in the smoke .will actually reach the mouth.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as, this description proceeds.

United States Patent i rality of minute apertures, which serve as air inlets, are located in the side wall of the cigarette. These apertures are normally closed by means which can be wholly or partly removed and thereby selectively uncover all or part of the'apertures as desired. The number of apertures which are uncovered determine the amount of aeration. While it is within the broadest aspects of this invention to provide a single relatively large aperture covered by removable means whereby the aperture may be opened, or closed, it is preferable to employ a plurality of small apertures, all or part of which may be selectively opened. The size and/or shape of the aperture is not critical but good results may be obtained with holes varying from 0.20 to 2.00 mm. diameter. The size of the holes will vary with the number used, as well as other factors. Other details of the invention will become apparent as this description proceeds. Several non-limiting forms of the invention are shown in the drawings, where:

Figure 1 illustrates one form of the invention with certain portions of the cigarette broken away.

Figure 1A is a view taken on line 1A--1A of Figure 1.

Figure 2 illustrates a modified form'of cigarette embodying the invention with certain parts broken away.

Figure 2A is'a view taken on line 2A-2A of Figure 2.

Figure 3 illustrates yet another modified form of the invention with certain parts broken away.

Figure 4 illustrates an additional modified form of the invention with part of a sleeve broken away.

Figure 5 illustrates an additional modified form of the invention with part of a slidable sleeve being broken away.

Figure 6 illustrates still another modified form of the invention in which part of the cigarette wrapper itself is used to control the apertures and mix air into the cigarette.

Figure 7 illustrates one more modified form of the invention with certain parts shown broken away.

Figure 8 is a view, partly in cross-section, of a further modified form of the invention.

I Figure 9 is a side view of still another modified form of the invention.

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of a section of the cigarette showing a tenth modified form of the invention.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation view of one form of the tip of a cigarette equipped with air inlet adjusting means. This cigarette includes a paper or cork tip 11 adjacent one end thereof and lying over one or more perforations 13. The cigarette, except insofar as the drawing shows otherwise, is of standard construction and therefore includes a tubular wrapper 19 filled with tobacco from one end to the other. Alternatively, a short section near the mouth end may include filtering material, according to well known standard practices. The perforations 13-, which arelocated in the wrapper, therefore lead directly into the tobacco, when the cigarette includes no filter. In the case of cigarettes with filters, the perforations 13 may lead directly into the tobacco upstream In the preferred embodiment of my invention, a pluofthe filter, or' alternatively may lead directly into the filtering material. or into the region where the tobacco and the filter meet. Tip 11 canbe' mounted on the cigarette indifferent ways, for example. it may be attached to the cigarette wrapper 19'with cement along the shaded portion 12; The cement extends throughout the entire length of the tip 11, adjacent the inner end thereof, and

for a limited portion of its width, for examplefor 5 inch. The paper tip 11 encircles the cigarette a little rnore than one complete revolution and terminates with the first or inner wrapper of tip 11 but do not extend through the outer wrap which includes the tab 15. After the paper forming the tip 11 has fully encircled the cigarette, it is cemented to the outer surface of the inner end thereof. The horizontal lines 14 illustrate a band of cement extending on the outer surface of the inner wrap (adjacent the inner end) of the paper tip 11. This cement band 14 is preferably applied to the inner surface of the outer wrap and extends for the entire length of the tip 11 the same as does the cement band 12.

If the cigarette is used in the way it comes from the.

package, without any manipulation of the tab 15, the smoker will not have any aeration. On the other hand, if aeration is desired, the smoker can pull tab 15 to sever the outer wrap from the inner wrap and thus unwrap the tip 11. However, the cement 12 has greater adherence than the cement 14 (the latter providing a temporary bond only, while the former provides a permanent bond). After the tip 11 has been unwrapped as aforesaid, it is then torn along the perforations 16 to thus sever it from the cigarette. The only thing that remains thereafter in addition to the structure of a standard cigarette isthe series of holes 13 which have now been uncovered and the band which formerly was the inner end part of the tip 11. The portion of the band of tip 11, remaining, extends from the perforations 16 to the righthand edge of the cement 12. Air may now enter the perforations 13 and be mixed with the smoke in order to obtain the advantages of an aerated cigarette.

The foregoing assumes that the cement used at 14 is of a tasteless type. If it is desired to use a form of cement which would have a displeasing taste to the smoker, the cement on the outer side of the inner wrap of the tip 11 should be located along a band 17 to the left of the perforation 16, instead of being located along the'band 14. If the cement is located throughout the entire length of the tip 11 and immediately to the left of the perforation 16 (which also runs throughout the length of entire tip), the cement will of course be torn off when the main body of the tip 11 is severed, along the perforation 16, from its end portion which is permanently cemented at 12. If desired, both the cement 12 for the inner surface of the inner wrap and the cement 14 (or 17) of the outer wrap may be of the tasteless temporary type, and the perforation 16 may be omitted, in which case the entire tip 11 may be removed when it is peeled.

In Figure 2, the cigarette 20 has a tip 21 composed of a sheet of paper which makes slightly more than one convolution around the cigarette. The entire surface of the tip 21 is cemented to the entire outer surface of the cigarette wrapper 27 for the entire distance between the row of perforations 23 and the lower (month) end of the cigarette. In addition, where the outer wrap of the sheet 21 overlaps the inner wrap, there is an additional band of cement 22 applied preferably to the inner surface of the overlapping portion of the outer wrap which affixes the outer wrap onto the shaded area 22 of the inner wrap. However, the cement 22 does not extend above the row of perforations 23.

Since the sheet 21 is not cemented to itself or to the cigarette wrapper above the row of perforations 23, it is possible by pulling tab 25 to tear the upper part 24 of the sheet 21 from the remainder of the sheet. The upper band 25 tears easily along the row of closely spaced perforations 23. This leaves the portion of the sheet 21 below the row of perforations 23 intact but removes the portion thereof which covers the row of perforations 26. These perforations are located in the paper wrapper 28 of the cigarette 20 and therefore when uncovered, enable air to enter into the tobacco and thereby aerate the cigarette. The air enteringthrough the apertures 26 and the cigarette paper wrapper 28, passes diretcly into the tobacco 29 and thence passes downwardly, under influence of the suction created by the smoker through the filter 20a. The filter is of standard construction and may include any suitable filtering material.

In Figure 3, the usual cigarette paper wrapper 39 includes three rows of holes 31a, 32a, 33a each of which rows extends around the entire circumference of the cigarette. The tip 34 is composed of a sheet of paper which has been wrapped around the cigarette wrapper 39 and cemented thereto upon the area shown by shaded portion 38. The inner surface of a limited portion of the sheet 34, ad acent its outer end, carries a vertical band of cement 35 to which the outer surface of the inner wrap of the sheet adheres. The cigarette may be filled with tobacco from end to end, or a limited portion near the lower end may include filtering material. The holes 31a, 32 33a may enter the portion of the cigarette containing tobacco only, or they may enter the portion of the cigarette which consists of filtering material only, or some of the rows (for example row 31a) of holes may enter the portion that contains tobacco, while another row or rows (for example rows 32a and 33a) enter a portion which contains filtering material only.

The drawing shows the form of the device in which the upper row of holes 31a enter the tobacco column 3%, and the lower row 33a enter the filter column 39b.

If the smoker desires light aeration only, he may pull tab 31 to tear an upper band of the paper tip 34 from the tip. The upper band may be easily severed along the perforations 37a. When so severed the upper row of holes 31:: are exposed whereby a limited amount of aeration is provided. If more aeration is desired, the second of the three bands may be removed by pulling tab 32 and tearing the sheet along the row of perforations 37b. If a large amount of aeration is desired, the smoker may pull tab 33 to sever the sheet along row of perforations 37c and thus remove all three of the bands 31, 32 and 33, whereby the three rows of holes 31a, 32a and 33a are all exposed. This provides a large number of holes through the side Wall of the paper wrapper 39 and effects a large amount of aeration. The several bands 31, 32 and 33 may be of different colors, so that the smoker can see at once the degree of aeration available at any particular time.

It is also understood that in the construction shown in Figures 2 and 3, the part of the tip 21 or 34, as the case may be, entering the mouth of the smoker may be made removable simultaneously with the removal of the upper band (25 or 33), whereby the smoker may remove the entire tip of the cigarette if he desires to use the cigarette in its conventional form without a tip.

The burning tobacco produces a large number of high temperature products of combustion, including tars and other materials, which are drawn under the suction created by the smoker through the column of tobacco into the mouth. The air resulting from the aforesaid aeration greatly cools these products of combustion while they are still traversing the column of tobacco (or filter or both) and causes them to condense and deposit themselves in the tobacco whereby the tars, etc. that reach the mouth are substantially reduced.

In Figure 4, a strip of paper forms a cigarette tip 41 covering one or more rows of holes 42. The strip of paper 41 may have its entire inner surface covered with cement with the exception of the portion 43 which is a very limited portion adjacent the outer end and which serves as a tab. A limited amount of cement 45 is located preferably on the inner surface of a limited portion of the outer wrap adjacent the inner end. If desired, cement along the inner surface of the inner wrap may be limited to a band 44 covering a limited portion adjacent the inner end.

The cigarette 40 of Figure 4 is filled with tobacco from one end to the other, or embodied with filtering material, and may be smoked in the normal way without removing the strip 41. On the other hand, if aeration is desired, the strip 41 may be removed to provide aeration. V I

In Figure the cigarette 50 is filled with tobacco from one end to the other and has a sleeve 51 around, and perforations 52 in, the conventional paper wrapper 53. Of course filtering material may be inserted adjacent the month end. The sleeve 51 is movable either longitudinally to the position 54, or rotatable, or both. It has a large hole 55' which may be moved on top of one of the smaller holes 52 to provide a limited amount of aeration. Hence, three different degrees of aeration are possible with this form of the invention. If the sleeve 51 is rotated to a position where hole 55 does not surround one of the holes 52, whereby all of the holes 52 are closed, no aeration takes place. If the sleeve 51 is rotated to surround one of the holes 52, the others remaining closed, a very small amount of aeration is obtained. If the sleeve 51 is moved longitudinally a short distance so that it uncovers one of the rows of holes 52 but not the other, a medium amount of aeration is obtained. If the sleeve 51 is moved to the position 54, all of the holes 52 are uncovered and moreover, the sleeve now serves as a mouthpiece for the cigarette. It is understood, like in the case along a band 83 just to'the right of the perforations S2. The cement in band 83 is of the tasteless temporary type whereby the smoker may pulltab 65 to sever the bond at the cement and then upwrap the extension 81, finally tearing it from the cigarette along the row of perforations 82. This will expose the row of air inlets 80. Hence when the smoker sucks air through his cigarette he will obtain the desired aeration.

Figure 9 illustrates a simple form of this invention in which the cigarette 90, which of course has a standard a wrapper and may include a filter if desired, has a single of each of the preceding figures, that each row of holes 52 is a series of closely spaced holes extending completely around the circumference of the cigarette wrapper 53.

Figure 6 is a modified form of the invention in which the cigarette 60 includes tobacco preferably extending completelyfrom one end thereof to the other end, and a cigarette wrapper 61. This form of the invention differs from the others primarily in the fact that a single sheet of paper is used both as the wrapper and as the means for covering and uncovering the aerating apertures. This single sheet of paper 61 has itsinner edge terminating at 62. It proceeds from 62 and is wrapped around the tobacco and terminates at an outer edge 63. This edge has two indentations 64 which form between them a tab 65 that covers one or more holes 66,1ocated in the sheet 61 adjacent the inner edge 62; A row of perforations extends in the outer wrap from one indentation 64, aroundthe hole 66 to the other indentation 64. The outer surface, adjacent edge 62, of the inner wrap is cemented to the inner portion, adjacent edge 63, of the outer wrap of the sheet 61 along that area indic'atedby the horizontal parallel lines. It is noted, therefore, that there is no cement holding the tab 65 onto the inner wrap, and therefore one may pull this tab off by tearing along the row of perforations 67 and thus expose the hole 66 to provide aeration for the cigarette.

In Figure 7, the cigarette 70 has a tip 71 permanently cemented to the cigarette wrapper except for the portion 74 of the tip covering holes 72. Said portion 74 has a plurality of cutout portions 73 which separate the portions 74 from each other whereby any one or more of the portions 74 may be folded downward to expose the hole 72 located thereunder. The portion 75 of the cigarette may be empty and the holes 72 may enter the tobacco itself or may enter the empty portion 75, or some of the holes may enter the tobacco portion 76 and other holes enter the empty portion 75. In other words, it is understood that the folding down features to expose hole 72 may be applied to any type of cigarette.

Figure 8 is a modified form of Figure 6 and similar reference numbers on Figures 6 and 8 represent corresponding parts. The only difference between these two figures is that in Figure 8 the tab 65, instead of terminating in line with edge 64, as shown in Figure 6, makes a complete additional wrap around the cigarette and terminates with the said tab 65. The row of holes 80 is located in the cigarette wrapper 61 but under the extension 81 of the wrapper. This extension is connected to the remainder of the wrapper as shown along a line which contains the row of perforations 82. A limited portion of the extension 81 is cemented to the standard cigarette wrapper hole 91 punched through the wrapper. This hole is covered by, a tab 92 which is cemented to the outside'of the wrapper 90. The tab 92 may be readily peeled oif of the cigarette wrapper, leaving a hole 91 in the side wall of the cigarette to provide'the desired aeration.

In Figure 10, the cigarette has a plug 101 of any suitable material which may be removed to provide the aeration. The plug extends into the tobacco. After the plug has been removed, it may be used as a pin to punch additional holes in the side wall of the cigarette in order 7 to obtain additional aeration.

I claim to have invented:

1. A cigarette comprising a wrapper containing tobacco, one end of said cigarette comprising a mouth end adapted for insertion into the mount of a smoker, there being air passages in the said wrapper adjacent the mouth end for introducing air into the tobacco while the tobacco is being smoked toaerate the smoke, and means adjacent said wrapper and air passages for selectively controlling the admission of air through the passages, said last-named means comprising a sleeve surroundingsaid'wrapper adjacent said air passages.

2. A cigarette having a wrapper containing tobacco and including a mouth end, a tip at the month end of the wrapper, said tip being adapted for insertion into the mouth of a smoker, said cigarette being provided with a plurality of apertures in the wrapper thereof under the end part of said tip remote from the mouth of a. smoker, when said tip is inserted into the mouth of a smoker, to selectively provide passages for communicating air into the tobacco and thence to said mouth end, the portion of the tip covering said apertures being easily detachable from the 're'st 'of' the tip to permit aeration of the'smoke. I 3. The cigarette of claim 2 in which the portion of the tip covering said apertures-is formed of a plurality of detachable strips to permit selection of the degree of aeration. e V

4. A cigarette having a mouth end and comprising a wrapper for tobacco, filtering material adjacent the mouth end of the cigarette, there being a plurality of apertures in said wrapper adjacent the mouth end of said cigarette and in communication with said filtering material, and an aeration control member adhered to said cigarette adjacent said mouth end and selectively covering said apertures, said control member being detachable from said wrapper to selectively expose said apertures thereby permitting selective amounts of air to pass into said filtering material and thence to pass to said mouth end with smoke.

5. A cigarette comprising a wrapper for tobacco, there being a plurality of apertures in said wrapper and in communication with the tobacco, and an aeration control member surrounding said wrapper and covering said apertures, said aeration control member including a plurality of detachable strips selectively exposing different of said apertures.

6. The cigarette of claim 5 in which said cigarette has a month end, said apertures being adjacent the mouth end of said cigarette, said aeration control member comprising a tip adhered to said cigarette wrapper, each of said detachable strips including a tab for facilitating detachment thereof.

7. A cigarette adapted to produce selectively aerated smoke and comprising a wrapper, tobacco within said wrapper and extending continuously between first and second predetermined points, said wrapper having a plurality of apertures positioned intermediate said first and second points and in communication with said tobacco, and a cigarette tip attached to said cigarette adjacent said second point, said tip including detachable strip means and covering said apertures whereby the extent of aeration of the smoke may be selectively varied by detaching said strip means from said cigarette.

8. A cigarette comprising a combustion end and a mouth end, said cigarette having a plurality of apertures between said ends and in communication with the tobacco of said cigarette for the introduction of air therethrough while the tobacco is being smoked to aerate the smoke, and strip means detachably covering said apertures thereby to control the introduction of air by the smoker.

9. The cigarette of claim 8 wherein said apertures are arranged in a plurality of rows, each of said rows having a plurality of perforations, said plurality of rows of perforations being disposed adjacent the said mouth end of said cigarette, said means covering said apertures comprising a closely fitting cigarette tip of strip configuration mounted adjacent said mouth end and including portions selectively exposing said perforations.

10. A cigarette adapted to be smoked by a smoker and comprising a substantially tubularv wrapper at least partially filled with tobacco, through which the smoke passes, an aperture through the side of said wrapper and in communication with said tobacco for the introduction of air through the tobacco while the tobacco is being smoked to aerate the smoke, and means associated with said cigarette and removably covering said aperture thereby to control the introduction of air by the smoker.

11. A cigarette adapted to be smoked by a smoker and comprising a substantially tubular Wrapper filled with material, including a tobacco column and a filter column, through which the smoke passes, an aperture through the side of said wrapper opening directly into the filtering material in said filter column for the introduction of air through the filtering material while the tobacco is being smoked to aerate the smoke, and means associated with said cigarette removably covering said aperture thereby to control the introduction of air by the smoker.

12. A cigarette comprising a wrapper having an ignitable end and a mouth end, tobacco within said wrapper and extending from the ignitable end to the mouth end,

8 said wrapper having a plurality of apertures disposed adjacent said mouth end, and an aeration control member attached to said cigarette adjacent said mouth end, said control member comprising at least one detachable strip surrounding said wrapper and covering at least some of said apertures.

13. The cigarette of claim 12 in which said apertures are disposed in a plurality of groups, said control member comprising a plurality of separately detachable strips respectively covering said groups. a p

14. A cigarette comprising a tubular wrapper, tobacco within the said wrapper extending continuously between first and second predetermined locations therein, said wrapper having a plurality of apertures positioned intermediate said first and second locations to provide passages communicating between the exterior surface of said wrapper and said tobacco, and control means surrounding said tubular wrapper for selectively covering said apertures, said control means comprising strip means circumferentially placed about and adhering to said wrapper over said apertures, said strip means including a tab-like extension integrally formed therewith whereby said strip means may be detached from said wrapper thereby to selectively expose said apertures.

15. The cigarette of claim 14 in which said apertures are arranged in a plurality of distinct groups, each of said groups comprising a plurality of apertures spaced from one another and arranged in a row disposed substantially circumfcrentially of said tubular wrapper, said strip means comprising a plurality of strips substantially parallel to one another and each of said strips covering respectively a different one of said groups, said tab-like extension comprising a separate tab associated with each of said strips respectively whereby any one or more of said strips may be individually and selectively detached from said wrapper thereby to selectively expose one or more of said groups of apertures.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

1. A CIGARETTE COMPRISING A WRAPPER CONTAINING TOBACCO, ONE END OF SAID CIGARETTE COMPRISING A MOUTH END ADAPTED FOR INSERTION INTO THE MOUNT OF A SMOKER, THERE BEING AIR PASSAGES IN THE SAID WRAPPER ADJACENT THE MOUTH END FOR INTRODUCING AIR INTO THE TOBACCO WHILE THE TOBACCO IS BEING SMOKED TO AERATE THE SMOKE, AND MEANS ADJACENT SAID WRAPPER AND AIR PASSAGES FOR SELECTIVELY CONTROLLING THE ADMISSION OF AIR THROUGH THE PASSAGES, SAID LAST-NAMED MEANS COMPRISING A SLEEVE SURROUNDING SAID WRAPPER ADJACENT SAID AIR PASSAGES. 